Mayweather jabs Pacquiao

Floyd Mayweather made a dig at Manny Pacquiao shortly after Thursday’s media stop in Brooklyn to promote the August 26 fight between he and UFC superstar Conor McGregor to be held at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. It came at an opportune time for Mayweather, 40, who was ordered by a federal judge in 2012 to pay approximately $114,000 to his longtime rival for avoiding questioning in a defamation case.

Pacquiao, who lost his WBO World welterweight title to Jeff Horn July 2, alleged that Mayweather defamed him by suggesting he used performance-enhancing drugs.

Choosing his words carefully, Mayweather implied Pacquiao used illegal substances during his career.

“I’ve never said that he took anything, all I’mma say is this…when certain pieces from Manny Pacquiao’s team left his team, he was no longer fighting the same,” Mayweather stated via FightHub TV. “That’s all I’m gonna say.” Mayweather is likely referring to Pacquiao’s former strength and conditioning coach, Alex Ariza, who was fired by head trainer Freddie Roach in 2013 after a bitter falling out.

“One of the reasons why he doesn’t work for me anymore is because I think he’s a little shady,” Roach said in a 2014 interview with SecondsOut.com. “He used to give (Pacquiao) a drink every day before we worked out and I asked him ‘What’s in that drink,’ and he would never tell me.”

Roach’s comments came following a lopsided victory for Pacquiao over former lightweight world champion Brandon Rios, who tested positive for a banned substance following the fight, with Ariza serving as strength and conditioning coach.

While there is no solid proof Pacquiao doped, one’s eyebrows could make a funny slant when considering the fact that Ariza worked with the former eight-division world champion closely when he was racking up dominant victories from 130 to 154 pounds over the likes of David Diaz, Oscar De La Hoya, Ricky Hatton, Miguel Cotto, and Antonio Margarito.

To boot, Pacquiao moved up three weight classes to fight De La Hoya in 2008, which is almost unheard of, yet his speed and power seemed to only improve.

Revenge is a dish served cold.

Pacquiao won in court, Mayweather won in the ring, and Mayweather – as he usually does – got the last word.